How can I profit from a market stuck in a trading range?

— -- Q: Are there ways for investors to profit even though the stock market isn't going anywhere and is stuck in a trading range?

A: The lost decade. It's a painful reminder for investors who have risked their money for 10 years and have gotten nothing in return.

Welcome to the age of the trading range.

Investors have watched as the stock market continues to bounce around and not really go anywhere. Over the past twelve months, the Dow Jones industrial average has had a 52-week high of 12,876 and has sunk as low 10,404. The Dow is currently in the 11,800 range.

It's a frustrating market that can test the patience of even the most weathered long-term investor. On one hand investors have to settle for getting no return, yet at the same time, endure the painful ups and downs of the market and endure the torture of volatility. Risk for no return is never a good tradeoff.

Some investors, though, are trying to figure out how to eke out some returns in this dismal market. There are many strategies to do this. A few that investors might consider would be:

•Hanging in for the dividends. Investors with diversified portfolios get a reward for their patience: dividends. A diversified portfolio that contains all the recommended asset classes of stocks likely generates cash payments every quarter. Currently, investing in the Standard & Poor's 500 generates a roughly 2.5% dividend. And while 2.5% might not sound like much, it sure beats the 1% paid by "high yield" savings accounts and even the returns on government debt securities.

A well-diversified portfolio might also contain asset classes like real-estate investment trusts that pay an even higher dividend yield than the S&P 500 does. Getting paid to wait certainly makes it easier to endure a trading range.

•Using options. Options are financial instruments designed to help investors either profit or protect themselves from volatility. One type of option, the call, can be useful in a flat market. When you sell a call option, you give another investor the right but not the obligation to buy stock from you at a predetermined price.

In a flat market, you might consider selling call options on stock you own. The investor who buys the call option from you must pay you a fee, or premium, for the right. If the stock winds up not doing anything, and is flat, you keep the premium and the stock.

Warning: If the stock rises above the price you set, or strike price, you will then likely need to sell the stock at that price. That means you can miss out on some upside if the stock rises.

•Searching for alternatives. If you're fed up with the flat market, then you might consider looking for other places to put your money. Perhaps the recent market's volatility is a wake-up call that your portfolio is too risky for you. Investors looking for less risk have options if they're willing to accept lower return in the future.

There are other possibilities for investors who want to stray further from the comfortable realm of U.S. stocks. Mortgage backed securities, preferred stock and master limited partnerships are all alternatives to common stock that might generate more income for investors tired of waiting.

Just be careful, though. While it's tempting to run away from the flat market, economic theory suggests that might be a bad move. As the prices of financial assets fall, unless the economy falls apart, there might be rewards for investors who hang in there. But, there's no guarantee and only you can decide how much more you can stomach.

Matt Krantz is a financial markets reporter at USA TODAY and author of Investing Online for Dummies and Fundamental Analysis for Dummies. He answers a different reader question every weekday in his Ask Matt column at money.usatoday.com. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com. Follow Matt on Twitter at: twitter.com/mattkrantz